In the season finale of The Playful Psychologist, I am joined by Jacquie Ward, from The Brave Space.  Jacquie is a provisional psychologist who works with mothers of children who need a little extra support. In this episode, Jacquie answers questions around ‘sensitive children’ and how parents can best support them. In this episode, Jacquie answers the following questions:

• What advice do you give mums who have a child who needs a little extra attention or support, but may not have a diagnosis?
• What are some of the best ways that you believe parents can really get in touch with their child's feelings and needs?
• What are some of the ways that these children can be supported in the classroom? 
• What advice do you have for parents who are feeling really overwhelmed with their child's behaviour?

To learn more about Jacquie and learn about her membership options, check out her website and socials:

www.thebravespace.com.au

Facebook free group: www.facebook.com/groups/mamahuddle

Membership community: www.facebook.com/groups/attunedmembership

Instagram: @the_brave_space_

On this week's episode of The Playful Psychologist, I explore executive functioning skills and how you can help kids develop strong executive functioning skills. This episode is based on a blog post, written for my website,  by Alexandra Finkel from NYC. You can follow @kindmindstherapy for more information on Alexandra and her clinical work.

Executive Functioning skills are responsible for helping people of all ages manage things like organising, planning, self control, memory, and more. These skills are incredibly important for developing independence and the ability to follow through on tasks and thoughts. There are many ways to build these skills in kids, and this episode will share four main ones.

For more interesting content on child development, check out my other blog posts: https://www.theplayfulpsychologist.com/blog-1

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist, I explore anxiety and how it presents across the lifespan, by asking the popular question, can anxiety be cured?

This is a question I get asked about a lot. And the short answer for me, is No. Keep in mind that ‘cured’ implies that it will never return, and I don’t believe a person who experiences anxiety in its true form will ever be absolutely free from anxiety. Unfortunately, I think the term ‘I am so anxious’ or ‘my anxiety is through the roof’ has clouded our understanding of just how debilitating anxiety can actually be. And again these frivolous statements can make it seem as though anxiety is nothing to worry about. However, those who are diagnosed with an anxiety-related disorder will let you know that there are absolutely ways to manage anxiety, however it never fully disappears. It comes and goes in waves depending on our environment and life circumstances. What I do think however, is that someone who has anxiety can learn to be better equipped with strategies that work for them and help manage anxiety, so that when it arises in the future, they are aware of what they have to do, thus reducing the impact that anxiety has on them in that situation.

This episode will explore:

• A quick review of anxiety disorders
• How age impacts the presentation of anxiety
• The impact of early intervention for anxiety disorders
• Long term management of anxiety disorders

To read more about anxiety disorders, check out my website where I have several blog posts on this topic, as well as my online store for further resources: www.theplayfulpsychologist.com

 On this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist, I am joined once again by a friend of mine, who also happens to be one of the BEST speech pathologists I have ever worked with, Sabina Pyne! Sabina has worked as a paediatric speech pathologist since gaining her Masters degree  2015. She uses her drive for working with children to deliver evidence-based, fun and energetic treatment programs. Sabina understands that each child's communication needs are unique, and provides therapies that help your family members effectively communicate their wants and needs, whatever their skill level. Sabina believes that by working closely with your family and using a range of augmentative and alternative communication strategies, we can increase your child's ability to participate in all aspects of life.

In this episode, Sabina helps us answer the following questions:

• What causes kids to stutter?
• Can stuttering be purely an anxiety issue or is it only a speech/mechanics issue?
• What therapies help stuttering?
• If stuttering is left untreated, what happens? 
• Do kids grow out of it on their own?

You can learn more about Sabina via her website: https://spillthebeanstherapy.com/

To learn more about The Lidcombe Program for stuttering, check out their website: https://www.lidcombeprogram.org/

This episode is proudly sponsored by Baxter Blue, who are Re-Framing the Future of Blue Light Glasses with their new biodegradable range. Baxter Blue glasses work by filtering out blue light, which is the harmful light emitted from our digital screens and can cause eye strain, fatigue, and headaches. Baxter Blue glasses bring relief to headaches & sore eyes by filtering out the 80% of the harmful blue violet light!  You can get 15% off their entire range using code PLAYFUL at checkout. Don't forget to use their virtual try on filter to see how the different styles suit you! Click on the link below to check out their range:

mght.co/theplayfulpsychologist

In this week's episode of The Playful Psychologist, I explore the differences and similarities between Autism and ADHD.

In this episode, the following questions are explored:

• What is Autism?
• What is ADHD?
• How do symptoms overlap?
• How do they differ?
• How can you tell the difference between the two?
• Can you be diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD?

To learn more about Autism and ADHD, check out my resource guide:  https://www.theplayfulpsychologist.com/product-page/resource-guide-parenting

To follow along on Instagram, you can find me @theplayfulpsychologist

In this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist, I explore the process of applying for masters programs and preparing for interviews.  I want to start off by saying, this episode is for people WANTING to do a masters degree. I am by no means saying everyone SHOULD apply, but this is a question I get asked often and wanted to answer it for those interested. 

This episode will answer the following questions:

• Why do you need experience?
• How can you get experience as a student?
• How can you set yourself a part from other applicants?
• What should you consider when applying for masters programs?
• What should you do once you are in the interview to help yourself stand out?

If you want to learn more about transitioning from student to graduate, check out the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/191828492392828

If you have any further questions, check out my Students & Graduates Guide: https://www.theplayfulpsychologist.com/product-page/the-student-graduate-guide

This episode is proudly sponsored by Baxter Blue, who are Re-Framing the Future of Blue Light Glasses with their new biodegradable range. Baxter Blue glasses work by filtering out blue light, which is the harmful light emitted from our digital screens and can cause eye strain, fatigue, and headaches. Baxter Blue glasses bring relief to headaches & sore eyes by filtering out the 80% of the harmful blue violet light!  You can get 15% off their entire range using code PLAYFUL at checkout. Don't forget to use their virtual try on filter to see how the different styles suit you! Click on the link below to check out their range:

mght.co/theplayfulpsychologist

In this week's episode of The Playful Psychologist, I interview my mum, Randa Habelrih, who also happens to be the mother of a young man with autism. This episode aims to show parents of children with disabilities that they are NOT alone in their journeys, but also aims to highlight the impact of poor social opportunities on individuals on the autism spectrum. 

In this episode, Randa answers the following questions:

 -      How did your journey of advocating for your son begin?

-      What did you find were the most difficult hurdles when fighting for inclusion?

-      What made you take matters into your own hands and how did you do it?

-      What is 'Timmy' the turtle' and how did this come about?

To learn more about Timmy the Turtle and how you can use this program in your school, check out the following link: https://timmy.autismmates.org.au/

You can follow Randa and Richard on Tik Tok @autismmates or on Instagram @richard.habelrih and @autism_mates

To watch our original video, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIH-I2LKSLs

On this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist, I explore ways to make sure psychologists can effectively lay the foundations for successful therapy when treating the signs and symptoms of anxiety. This episode explores:

• The importance of psychoeducation, especially for children
• How to deliver effective psychoeducation
• Why it is important to lay therapeutic foundations prior to trying to implement regulation strategies.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Baxter Blue, who are Re-Framing the Future of Blue Light Glasses with their new biodegradable range. Baxter Blue glasses work by filtering out blue light, which is the harmful light emitted from our digital screens and can cause eye strain, fatigue, and headaches. Baxter Blue glasses bring relief to headaches & sore eyes by filtering out the 80% of the harmful blue violet light!  You can get 15% off their entire range using code PLAYFUL at checkout. Don't forget to use their virtual try on filter to see how the different styles suit you! Click on the link below to check out their range:  mght.co/theplayfulpsychologist

On this weeks episode of The Playful Psychologist, I am joined by a friend of mine, who also happens to be one of the BEST speech pathologists I have ever worked with, Sabina Pyne! Sabina has worked as a paediatric speech pathologist since gaining her Masters degree  2015. She uses her drive for working with children to deliver evidence-based, fun and energetic treatment programs. Sabina understands that each child's communication needs are unique, and provides therapies that help your family members effectively communicate their wants and needs, whatever their skill level. Sabina believes that by working closely with your family and using a range of augmentative and alternative communication strategies, we can increase your child\'s ability to participate in all aspects of life.

In this episode, Sabina helps us answer the following questions:

• What kinds of things children may require speech therapy for?
• Are there things parents can do at home to assist with speech and language development, or does it always need to be left to a professional?
• What are five ways to encourage early communication with your child?
• When should parents seek additional support for their children?
• What books would you recommend parents read to learn more?

 You can learn more about Sabina via her website: https://spillthebeanstherapy.com/

Welcome to Season 4 of The Playful Psychologist Podcast! In this weeks episode, I am joined by Dr Simone Alicia, who is known as The Self-Esteem Doctor. Simone is a Certified Neuro-linguistic Programming Practioner, Member of the Association for Integrative Psychology and Honorary Doctor of Divinity.

In psychology, the term self-esteem is used to describe a person's overall subjective sense of personal worth or value. In other words, self-esteem refers to how much you appreciate and like yourself. Your self-esteem is defined by several different factors, including: environmental factors, parental factors, social media, friendships and lived experiences.

In this episode, we answer the following questions:

• What is self-esteem?
• What factors contribute to self-esteem?
• What is the impact of social media on self esteem?
• How  can low self-esteem impact social and emotional development?
• How can we use self esteem activities as preventative strategies?
• When should parents seek help for their kids if they’re worried about their child’s self-esteem?

To learn more about Simone, and her academy full of free resources, you can check out her amazing websites:

www.TSEDacademy.com and www.TheSelfEsteemDoctor.com

Email: [email protected]

Toll free: 1-888-490-7484 x500

Instagram: @theselfesteemdoctor